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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. object — to protest
  3. clip — a video
  4. chip — for betting
  5. object — an aim
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spell — letters
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chip — to eat
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cue — a hint
  16. file — a document
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. object — a thing
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cue — a signal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com